Finley’s Mental Approach Benefits Him and Angels

The maturation of Chuck Finley continued Friday night, and it’s no coincidence that he has progressed from being the losingest Angel left-hander in 15 years to becoming a candidate for the All-Star team in just one season.

The addition of a nasty little forkball to his repertoire has played a key role, to be sure, but a tough, new mental approach may be an even bigger factor.

Take the first inning of the Angels’ 7-2 victory over the Twins in the Metrodome, for example.

Finley, never considered a tower of mental strength in the past, had the chance to relive old times and come apart. Catcher Lance Parrish made a throwing error on a steal by leadoff batter Al Newman, who had singled, and Newman ended up on third base.

Finley then walked Greg Gagne, gave up a sacrifice fly to Kirby Puckett, an infield single to Gary Gaetti and a run-scoring single to Gene Larkin. But he regained his composure and got the next two batters to hit ground balls, getting himself out of the inning.

“You don’t want to have a bad inning early in the game,” Finley said. “I guess I wasn’t quite focused in and got away from what I wanted to do. I know I’ve had trouble in the past dealing with tough situations by trying to do too much, but I think I’ve learned from the experience.

“I decided to keep them right there at two runs and not let things get out of hand.”

Finley (9-6) gave up just three more hits the rest of the way, struck out six, walked just one and came away with his seventh complete game.

He was was 9-15 with a 4.17 earned-run average last season, the worst record by an Angel left-hander since Frank Tanana lost a club-record 19 in 1974. This year, however, he is third in the league in earned-run average (2.33), tied for first in complete games with Kansas City’s Bret Saberhagen and Mark Gubicza and fifth in strikeouts (86).

“The way he responded after the first inning was really terrific,” Manager Doug Rader said, “because if there’s anything that suggests development, it’s being able to right the ship when things are going badly.”

Finley, once known as a pitcher who could not escape the one really bad inning in nearly every outing, is pitching with poise and confidence these days.

“I think those days are over for him,” Rader said. “I was a little worried about his arm speed in the first. I wasn’t sure he had sufficiently recovered from the last outing (a 15-strikeout complete-game effort against Baltimore).

“But he’s got the ability to mentally regroup now.”

The Angels’ offense, which managed just three runs in two games in Cleveland, is also on a roll again. They provided Finley with a wealth of support in a hurry on this evening, and the result was the Angels’ sixth victory in their last seven games.

They scored 10 runs on 16 hits Thursday night, and the hit parade continued Friday. Angel batters pounded out 12 hits and scored all seven runs in the first five innings.

They got to Twin starter Allan Anderson in the second, scoring three times on a double by Brian Downing, singles by Tony Armas, Jack Howell and Dick Schofield and a fielding error by third baseman Gaetti.

They chased Anderson in the third inning, collecting four more hits--a single by Devon White, an RBI double by Wally Joyner, another hit by Downing and a run-scoring single by Chili Davis.

Juan Berenguer came on to relieve Anderson and yielded the last two hits of the inning. He also gave up consecutive solo homers to Davis and Armas in the fifth, the 12th and 13th Angel homers in seven games.

“We’ve got several guys swinging really well now,” Downing said. “We’re a streak-hitting team and we have a lot of guys who strike out often because we have a lot of big swingers.

“For us to be successful this year, I think we need six or seven guys to hit 20 or more home runs and I think we’re in good shape to do that. We have to score runs on home runs.”

Berenguer settled into a groove after the fifth. He finished his five-inning stint, his longest as a Twin, with eight strikeouts, punctuating each one by pumping his fist.

“I would imagine every team he pitches against isn’t really happy about that,” Downing said. “He does it all the time. He’s just showing people up.”

Berenguer may have been pumped up, but the Angels had already scored seven times before seven of those strikeouts, and it was too late for the Twins, who managed just one hit and one walk in the last five innings against Finley.

Finley admitted that he thought about his chances of making the All-Star team when he got off to a 7-2 start and he also said it would be really nice to pitch in front of his parents, who are coming out to Anaheim to visit in July. But he isn’t holding his breath.

“I think if I went out there thinking about making the All-Star team, I probably wouldn’t be doing as well as I am,” Finley said. “It’s (Oakland Manager) Tony LaRussa’s decision, and whatever he decides I’ll live with. I sure won’t let it ruin the second half of the season for me in any case.”

If Finley keeps command of his poise and his forkball the way he has so far, it doesn’t seem as if anything could put a damper on this year.

Angel Notes

Designated hitter Brian Downing said he considered retiring after the 1987 season, but wanted to come back this year because he didn’t want to end his career on the sour note of 1988. “I didn’t want to go out like that, not with that personal performance or our performance as a club,” he said. Downing hit .242 with 25 home runs but just 64 run batted in last year, and the Angels finished 29 games behind American League West champion Oakland. Downing continues to swing a hot bat--he had two hits, including a double Friday night--and his average is up to .312. “That’s great but (hitting .300) isn’t a goal of mine. If I hit .200 and we get this,” he said, pointing to the finger where he would wear a championship ring, “I wouldn’t care. I read somewhere that I’m the oldest active, every-day player who has never been in a World Series. I’m obsessed with that ring.”

X-rays of Twin right-hander Randy St. Claire, who was hit on the left knee Thursday night by a line drive off the bat of Chili Davis, were negative. St. Claire has a bruised kneecap, and the force of the blow also hyperextended the knee slightly, but he is expected to miss only a couple of days. . . .Now we know why they call it the Thunderdome. A thundershower in the early innings boomed over the Metrodome. The glow of lightning was visible through the roof, and the pounding of the rain was audible. The facility’s Teflon top ripped open during a 1986 storm, and a lot of fans spent as much time staring up at the ceiling as watching the game.

Tony Armas’ bizarre hitting streak was extended to 84 days--covering 11 games and a lot of time on the disabled list--when he had a run-scoring single to left field in the second inning. He also hit his fourth homer in just 37 at-bats this season, a 403-foot shot to left field in the fifth inning. It was Armas’ 11th career homer in the Metrodome. Armas, who is hitting .471 during the streak, left in the fifth inning with a slight muscle strain. “It’s no big deal,” Armas said. . . . Claudell Washington, making his first appearance in a week after being sidelined with a shin infection, replaced Armas.